


10 hours

by tsukkkiii (becauseitisbitter)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Crushes, Dorks, Fluff, M/M, the 7k stuck at an airport au no one asked for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-08
Updated: 2015-03-08
Packaged: 2018-03-16 21:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3503246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becauseitisbitter/pseuds/tsukkkiii
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"He wanted to be on the receiving end of that smile again that was so subtle, nothing world-changing, but yes when Akaashi Keiji smiled, the world didn't stop spinning, the clocks didn't stop ticking and their flight was still unbelievably delayed, but Bokuto Koutarou still felt breathless by it."</p><p>Stuck at the airport in the middle of the night because the flight is SUPER delayed and wow Bokuto Koutarou has a huge crush AU</p>
            </blockquote>





	10 hours

**Author's Note:**

> i saw this AU idea on tumblr and i knew this was destined to be a bokuaka fic  
> it changes from funny to really cheesy and these two idiots are hindering me from sleeping
> 
> i hope you enjoy this!! (btw, listen to alone together by fob, makes it 3000x better!)

Generally speaking, Bokuto Koutarou didn't mind flying at all. In fact, he really enjoyed it.

Many people felt nervous at the thought of being trapped in a metal contraption that somehow soared through the sky, kilometers above the unforgiving earth. But he really didn't.

He loved it when the plane took off. When he sat next to the window and watched how everything became smaller and smaller by the second, how they breached the barrier of clouds and then suddenly are illuminated but nothing but the sun, a field of fluffy clouds beneath them.

He found it amazing.

Also, people would bring him free drinks and food and he didn't have to stand up for it? Some nice on-board entertainment? Talking to other passengers and their stories and how they ended up flying somewhere?

No, it was definitely awesome to fly??

There was just one thing that made his mood descent in less then .01 seconds: Delayed flights.

Bokuto was on his way home after some nice vacation and he had a stop in Sapporo before catching his connecting flight to Narita, but here he was, standing in the gate when he heard the announcement:

“ _Flight JL3089 to Narita International Airport will be delayed due to technical problems. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”_

The first thought that crossed his mind was 'Ha, poor assholes!'. The second one was 'Wait a minute--- that is my flight!!”

Bokuto rose from his seat and hurried to the big departure screen in his gate (he wasn't the only one) as he scanned it for his flight number. And there it was. It was his flight. And it was delayed and not just for one hour or two. No, it was freaking (“approximately”) 10 hours.

_What the fuck?_

It took the young man another minute (in which he mumbled all kinds of profanities that were in his vocabulary) before he was in motion again, straight heading to the information counter of Japan Airlines. He was just behind another black-haired man that was already talking to the lady behind the counter who apparently tried to explain the situation.

Ten hours was just outrageous! And it was one o'clock in the morning! Bokuto had already been sure he would be back in Tokyo in maybe an hour or two. Getting into the car he left at the park house in Narita and driving directly home to his warm and welcoming bed.

“Sir, we are really terribly sorry, but there is nothing we can do. At this time of the night, there is no other flight going to Narita.”

Bokuto noticed how the man before him was clearly not satisfied with that answer and he could sympathize. After all, he was standing here to complain, too.

“So, there is not one single flight going to the capital of our country, this is what you are telling me?” he required, his voice not particularly loud or rude, just agitated.

“Yes, we are very sorry.”

So that's that. Bokuto already resigned to go up to the women and ask her the same question.

He felt how his mood was ever so quickly going down, as he changed from one foot to the other, now looking around to find some place he could crash down and sulk and ask himself how he deserved this.

He spotted some relatively comfortable looking seats close to a vending machine and a coffee shop that was of course closed because – again – it was one am in the morning why should it be open?

The volleyball player sighed and walked towards the seats, falling down onto the chair with a loud omph, his bag being thrown right next to him.

This was just the worst. The absolutely fucking worst and he was contemplating to call Kuroo so he could cry about it but that would mean waking his best friend up and he never really appreciated it. Not that it had stopped him before, but Kuroo made him promise to only call at such an ungodly hour when it was really an emergency. Well, technically it was. He had no idea what to do for the next ten hours.

Bokuto grabbed his phone and headphones from his bag and quickly turned on some music, so he wouldn't have to hear the announcement and the annoyed sighs of the other (very few) passengers again, because that made it really just worse.

He only looked up when someone sat two seats next to him and he recognized the black suit of the man that had talked to the lady from the ground crew. Only now he saw his face (even if it was just his profile) and okay, wow maybe this could bring him out of his slump for just a tiny bit.

He was beautiful. That was the only adjective that seemed justified. Of course, he also look very tired, but who could blame him? He had pale skin and his black hair and dark eyes were a stark contrast to it and even though he wasn't something out-of-the-ordinary like Bokuto himself, with his excessive hair, he still had something special.

Or maybe it was just his thirst, who could tell?

He didn't look over to him, while he took out his phone from his breast pocket and frowned at the dark screen, apparently trying to bring it to life without any success. His head snapped up and his eyes started to roam across the gate, probably looking for some kind of electric source.

Without really noticing, Bokuto did the same and he spotted some outlets close by, all occupied.

A sigh left the other man and Bokuto quickly grabbed his bag to look for something.

It took him some rummaging (seriously, what kind of stuff did he bring with him??) until his hand blindly came across the small power bank he had charged before his first flight and brought along.

It had been a Christmas present from Kenma and it was actually one of the best things ever in this world. This thing could charge your phone and it could do it for three devices at the same time via USB and really, it had saved his ass several times.

Now that he had pulled it out he kept looking from the little machinery wonder to the other guy who had given up and now just sat there, staring at nothing in particular with a neutral expression.

Bokuto cleared his throat, trying to get his attention which didn't really work so he just leaned forward and went for it.

“Hey! If you wanna charge your phone you can use this, if you want?”

Mr. Beautiful finally turned to him and now that Bokuto could see his entire face, he was internally nodding to himself: Oh yes, he _is_ really beautiful, wow, good job universe.

“Oh. Thank you. I appreciate it,” he simple said and eyed the little white box before taking it and then finally plugging in his charger. After some minutes his screen came to life and his shoulders relaxed in relief.

“No problem! Really sucks with that stupid flight, right??”

The other man nodded in agreement and started to type away on his phone, probably contacting someone. He apparently knew people that were awake in the middle of the night or he just didn't care who he woke up. Maybe someone was waiting to pick him up and he had to tell them? His girl- or boyfriend possibly. It wouldn't surprise anyone if this man was taken.

Just the thought of it already damped Bokuto's mood considerably even though it was stupid. He didn't even know the man, but he really really wanted to.

“Thank you again. I hadn't anticipated such a great delay and I am quite depended on my phone,” the other man explained and snapped Bokuto out of his thoughts and just the fact that he had a tiny, really almost unnoticeable, smile on his face now made his mood skyrocket through the glass roof of the gate again.

“No sweat, really! Who would have expected this? I certainly didn't.” Bokuto hesitated for a second, chewing on his lower lip before just going for it again, “I am Bokuto Koutarou, by the way!”

Bokuto extended his hand with great enthusiasm and hoped to all deities that his hands weren't sweaty as the other man accepted it and replied with, “Akaashi Keiji.”

Akaashi Keiji. A perfect name, really. (His name could have been Count Heinrich von Bergenthal and he would have thought it was the best name on this entire planet.)

“Well, Akaashi, I guess we're stuck together for the next ten hours.”

 

**9 ½ hours left**

 

They didn't talk much at first. Bokuto just assured him that he could use the power bank as much as he needed to since it was still fully charged and Akaashi just thanked him and then started to look through his phone. And that was that.

 

Bokuto had pulled out a volleyball magazine at some point and read through some recent articles with mild interest. (He had already read through most of them on the plane anyway) and only occasionally the mention of someone he knew grabbed his interest and he smiled to himself, subconsciously shaking his head and marking the page so he could show it to them.

He had mainly bought this magazine because there was an article about himself in here, too and whenever he looked at the picture of him, spiking that ball that had brought his team the win, he felt all giddy and happy and it was probably really stupid, but he still couldn't help it.

He wouldn't have imagined that Akaashi would be the one to break their silence.

“Bokuto-san, you are interested in volleyball?”

Bokuto looked over to the other man, who had – at some point – put his phone back in his pocket. He was glancing at the magazine in his hand and Bokuto needed some seconds to process the question.

Eventually he let out an excited “Ah!” and then turned around the page about himself for the other man to see.

“You could say that!” he exclaimed and proudly represented his printed self to Akaashi whose eyebrows wandered closer to his hairline as he looked from to picture to the real thing.

“That is very impressive,” he said and although his voice sounded like he had heard nothing so uninteresting in forever, Bokuto was sure he really meant it.

His ears reddened as he turned the magazine around again and his hand went through his silvery hair that wasn't spiked up like it was in the picture (and really, most of the time)

“Thanks. It's awesome right? I couldn't believe it when _Volleyball National_ told me they want an interview with me and even want to print it.”

Bokuto remembered that he had almost lost it and then annoyed Kuroo for about two weeks about it. His best friend had said that it shouldn't be so surprising since he was the ace of the strongest team in Tokyo and he would go to Brazil for the Olympics soon.

His career was pretty incredible if he might say so himself. He was living his dream and back in high school he'd never would have thought it possible.

“Do you like volleyball, too, Akaashi?”

That would be too perfect. What if he played, too?? He didn't really look like an athlete in his suit and his build also didn't look extraordinary through his clothes, but who knew? Nishinoya was also really small and slender and he was still an A+ libero.

“I used to play in high school and enjoyed it. But I don't really have the time anymore,” Akaashi explained then and Bokuto smelled an actual conversation arise and oh wow he was so lucky because he really, really wanted to talk to the other man. Like, really!

“What position?” he inquired, magazine forgotten and put aside for now, as he fully turned around to Akaashi, one leg pulled up on the seat. (Bokuto was thinking of getting out of his shoes because _10 hours_ , but then the gate probably would have to be evacuated.)

“I played as a setter,” he replied then and Bokuto became more and more excited. What were the odds to end up here with a guy that wasn't only very high on the definitely-Bokuto-Koutarou's-type-scale, but also interested in volleyball.

“That's so cool! Setter's are super cool! I mean, volleyball in general is the best thing ever,” Bokuto exclaimed and grinned from one ear to the other. He then noticed that his voice must have carried a little too far in the area and he had gotten a little too excited again.

“Ah, sorry. I just get easily excited about this.” Bokuto scratched the back of his head and blushed when he felt the looks of others that were obviously bothered by him. (Well, everyone was on edge because they just got told that they would be stuck here for an eternity and then there was this big guy, screaming about volleyball, thank you very much.)

Akaashi, however, didn't look at him like he was a sore, he just smiled a little which made Bokuto's blush deepen for whole other reasons.

“It's fine. It's good to have something to be passionate about,” he replied and then suddenly stood up.

“Well Bokuto-san, I am pretty sure they have a McDonald's here that is open. Would you like to get some coffee?”

Bokuto hated coffee, but that didn't matter at all, because Akaashi had just asked him to join him and he would willingly drink a whole load of it, if he had to.

“Yes, let's do this! It's not like we would miss our flight if we leave for a bit,” Bokuto joked and winked to the other man who nodded and they both stood up (Bokuto almost forgot his bag) and went on their way.

 

**9 hours left**

 

Akaashi obviously had been at this airport before because he knew exactly where to go and which turn to take, while Bokuto just blindly followed him.

At this time of the day, there weren't too many people around. Even for their flight there were probably just a hand full of people, so when they arrived at the fast-food restaurant, there was only one other customer in line before them.

Bokuto decided quickly that he won't get a coffee after all, just a vanilla milkshake and an apple pie (Kuroo's words echoed in his ear, since he always pointed out what a sweet tooth he had, but he really didn't care).

He gave in his order first and Akaashi added his big coffee and when he was about to pull out some money, Akaashi almost swatted away his hand and stepped forward, quickly giving the money to the guy behind the register.

“As a thank you for the power bank,” he said without looking at him and Bokuto didn't know what to say, if he should insist or if that was rude or not, so he just meekly nodded when the handsome man glanced to him.

After Bokuto got his hands on his sugar load, he quickly remembered and turned to Akaashi, chocking out a, “Oh, I didn't say thank you for this, so... Thank you!!”

Akaashi's eyes widened at the loud expression of gratitude, but soon after his features softened and he nodded, guiding them to a free table.

For a while they just sat across from each other while Bokuto munched on his apple pie, idly looking around the place.

“Bokuto-san, if you don't start to drink your milkshake, it's going to melt,” he mentioned at some point when the pie was almost done for and Bokuto looked from the other man's eyes - they were such a pretty color, too. Something dark and grayish, but it had something amberish, too and he didn't even know if amberish was a legitimate word or if there was even a color for Akaashi's eyes – oh no, the milkshake!

“Oh, you're right!” Bokuto almost threw the rest of the “baked” (rather fried) good in his mouth and grabbed the iced shake, taking a long and big gulp of it. Too long. Too big. Way too cold.

The wing spiker choked on his drink when he felt the pressing pain of a brain freeze coming over him and he quickly pulled away the straw, spilling vanilla shake all over him and some parts of the table and it was probably the unsexiest thing anyone ever did, but that wasn't important, Bokuto had to press his hands against his head right now.

“Oh God,” he whimpered, partly out of pain and partly out of embarrassment as he realized what he just did. What was he? A six year old kid who just go his first milkshake in his life?

When he heard a quiet chuckle, he slowly removed his hands and looked up and he saw Akaashi hiding something like grin behind the back of his hand, while he pulled out a tissue out of his pocket and started to wipe the table.

“Oh no, you don't have to-”

“You certainly are an adventure, Bokuto-san,” he interrupted him and Bokuto blushed visibly, even more when Akaashi offered him another tissue. (At least he didn't spit on it to wipe his mouth like a mother. That would have killed everything.)

“Thanks,” he said meekly and cleaned himself up, taking the shake in his hands again and taking another (much smaller) gulp after eying it with suspicion. (As if what happened was the shake's fault.)

Apparently he was still funny to the other man, as he still slipped into a smile every now and then, trying to compose himself and hiding his – really cute – smile by drinking his black coffee.

“I could never drink coffee just like that. You didn't even put any sugar in it, did you?”

Akaashi looked to Bokuto over his steaming cup, glancing at the bitter dark liquid it.

“I actually like the taste of it, the bitterness and especially the smell. In return, I probably couldn't stomach one bit of that apple pie--- though I never really tried it, to be honest.”

Bokuto stared at him and tried to understand how someone could have not tried this gift from the gods.

“To be honest, I never ate anything from McDonald's before,” he added.

It was probably really, really bad for Bokuto to eat all those greasy and sugary stuff, but he couldn't help it. He needed it to function. And he did work out a lot, so nothing of it really stayed with him or anything. But to never ever have even tried any McDonald's...

He had a new mission.

“Stay right here,” Bokuto said and was already out of his seat, heading towards the counter with new found determination. He quickly ordered some stuff and then returned to the table with several things on the tray in his hands.

“Akaashi Keiji,” he announced, placing the tray between them. “I can show you the world. Shining, shimmering, splendid. Tell me, princ- Akaashi, now when did you last let your heart decide?”

Akaashi looked from the food in front of him to his companion, his brows a little closer than usually.

“Are you quoting Disney?”

“I can open your eyes. Take you wonder by wonder. Over, sideways and under, on a magic carpet-, uh, fast-food ride?”

“You really are quoting Disney.”

By now Akaashi almost looked worried and Bokuto just grinned back at him and grabbed the apple pie he bought and put it right next to the other man's half-filled cup.

“Try it,” he said, with more excitement than maybe necessary, watching how Akaashi slowly picked it up and hesitantly – as if approaching a wild animal – took a bite of it.

Bokuto stared at him as he chewed it and then had to witness how his face crunched up together and he quickly dropped it on the table again just to pick up his coffee.

“That,” he said between gulps, “was disgusting.”

“It couldn't have been that bad,” the silver-haired man tried, but Akaashi seemed pretty solid in his judgment, so he gave up on the pie and Bokuto started eating the rest of it.

“Okay, try the rest, it's nothing sweet anymore.” He nudged the tray and pointed at the Big Mac he got, while eating the apple pie – how this could ever be disgusting was beyond him.

“Oh, the famous Big Mac,” Akaashi said as he opened the box and took the layered burger into his hands. “I have high expectations.”

Again with too much hesitation, which was hilarious to Bokuto, he took a bite out of it and while he chewed it he looked at the bun and meat like he was evaluating it.

“It's okay, not bad. I probably just couldn't finish the entire thing,” he finally said and took another bite of it which pleased Bokuto.

“Don't worry, I'll eat everything you can't finish.”

“You certainly can eat a lot, Bokuto-san.”

“Well, I-” Bokuto blushed (again, for the umpteenth time this last hour, this man was killing him!) “I am a growing boy.”

Akaashi smiled at him and took one last bite before placing the burger back into the box.

“Alright, what next?”

For the next half an hour Bokuto made Akaashi eat the “basics” - as he called them – of McDonald's best. He liked the fries and actually ate all of them and he also enjoyed the nuggets. He did not like the cheeseburger, calling it “lump” and “a disappointment”. The chicken burger barely passed.

“Bokuto-san, I really can't eat anything anymore,” Akaashi eventually gave up and Bokuto let him be and instead finished everything that was left on the table only to remember that he never finished his milkshake. To the black-haired man's horror Bokuto just drank it while eating the rest of the cheeseburger.

“Should an professional athlete really eat all this?”

Bokuto snorted after he finished his last bite and emptied the cup, feeling very satisfied and he just hoped that the amount of grease wouldn't come and bite him in the ass later.

“Well, as long as you won't tell on me, I should be save. My coach always lectures me enough, anyway.”

They eventually stood up to get back to the gate – not that they missed anything – but it was time for a change of scenery.

Bokuto found some lockers where he could stash away his big bag for the next few hours, since he knew he would start to complain about having to carry it everywhere with him and then they just aimlessly walked around the closed duty free shops.

 

**8 hours left**

 

“What do you for a living, by the way? I never asked!”

They had found some seats again, and just sat next to each other, alternating between comfortable silence and talking.

“I teach,” Akaashi answered shortly and Bokuto waited for further elaboration, but nothing came.

“So, what do you teach?”

“Psychology. This is why I went abroad, too. It was an exchange program of the university I work for.”

“Woah!” University? Bokuto expected something like History or English because honestly, he could pull that of. But not university. “You look so young! You are a professor?”

“Not a full-fledged professor, but I do teach at the university in Tokyo. I finished and entered university early myself, so I graduated when I was quite young and now I teach psychology classes for early semesters.”

Of course Bokuto had realized that the other man was somewhat sophisticated. It was visible by the nice clothes he was wearing, the way he talked and even behaved. Even when he ate fast-food with him, it looked graceful, while Bokuto managed to spit around vanilla shake all over the place. But now he realized that he was probably some kind of genius.

“Wow, you must be really, like, intelligent then. I always sucked back in school and college. I always got around with volleyball scholarships, since it was the one thing I was good at. I'm not that smart.”

“Grades in school do not determine your intelligence,” Akaashi curtly replied and Bokuto turned his head to him in surprise.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, that every person is a different individual with different strengths and weaknesses. There are people who are artistic, some are scientific and some athletic. And yet there are all evaluated by the same measures and conditions. Someone who is good in the scientific field is considered smart and a good student, while someone who can draw masterpieces gets told that his talent won't provide him with anything in his future. The school system is really flawed.”

Bokuto was honestly rendered speechless. Once for the fact that this was the most Akaashi had spoken in one go, but also because he really understood what he was saying and he really was thrown back into his school days when everyone tried to tell him that he was a brainless jock.

“Yeah--- you are right. I just- people always said I was lucky that I could spike a ball well, otherwise I would end up unemployed.”

Akaashi looked over to him and frowned while he looked at Bokuto for a while.

“Bokuto-san, do you really just spike a ball over the net? Do you not think about blockers? When they are an obstacle to overcome, do you not think about different way to beat them? In a match, do you not observe how your opponent is playing and don't you adapt to it accordingly?”

Bokuto thought about and of course it was true. Maybe back in middle school he thought he could just spike the blockers away if he had enough power. But at some point he started using feints, block outs and other techniques for mid-air battles. (Of course, he also had his powerful spike which ripped through the block of the opponent and filled him with pride, but it wasn't just that anymore.)

“In my opinion, being in athlete is just as good as being skilled in the scientific filled. It is your strength and you are obviously very good at it and making a successful career. I don't think anyone at the Olympics will care about your math grades back in high school. So, Bokuto-san, I think you are very smart. You are smart in volleyball.”

They looked each other in the eyes, Akaashi with absolution and Bokuto in absolute awe and he opened his mouth, though unable to produce anything.

“That--- that is the first time anyone called me smart,” he said and he felt how he melted away when Akaashi smiled at him.

“Then you should maybe remind people to do it every one in a while.”

 

**7 hours left**

 

Bokuto's head jerked up and he looked around, disoriented and he saw Akaashi sitting next to him, his phone in his hand. He now looked over to him and Bokuto realized that he had totally dozed off.

“Oh my God, I'm sorry! I don't even remember being tired, woah,” he said, not feeling refreshed, rather groggy and he had an weird taste in his mouth.

“It's alright, you only slept for maybe 30 minutes.”

“Still---” Still, Bokuto had wasted 30 minutes of their limited time together with sleeping.

After they had that rather deep talk about Bokuto's intelligence, they just had sat there next to each other, without saying much at all.

Bokuto was deep in thought, naturally thinking of the young teacher he had made eat McDonald's food, introducing it with Aladdin. That university teacher, who was probably a genius, who had called him smart, and who smiled that smile that made his inside all gooey.

When they sat in silence, Bokuto wanted to take his hand so badly. He hadn't, of course, because he didn't dare to.

At some point in the time it must have come over him and he fell asleep.

“You must have been bored,” Bokuto said and started to stretch his limps, trying to shake off some of the sleepiness.

Akaashi had gotten out of his blazer and he had rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt and Bokuto swore that those arms could drive him into oblivion. Wow, when did it get so warm in here?

“It's alright, really. I don't mind. You make some interesting faces while you sleep,” he remarked and Bokuto really hoped that he didn't drool or grunted or something. Just to be save, he checked if there were dried leftovers of drool around his mouth, but luckily everything was clean.

But he must have sweated under the sweater he was wearing, feeling a little uncomfortable.

“I'll be right back, I'll just head to a restroom, alright?” he said and heaved himself up from the seat, only now realizing that it hadn't been that comfortable and that his butt felt a little numb.

Akaashi just nodded and went back to his phone, while Bokuto looked around until he found the signs for the toilets.

Once he was in there (the only one too) he ripped off the sweater over his chest, leaving him in a white t-shirt with a tiny brown owl sitting on a branch at the bottom. He washed his face with some cold water, already feeling a little better. It was kind of a pain that his deodorant and such was in his luggage which was who knows where, so he just used some soap to freshen himself up a bit. It did help, even if the soap here left his skin dry and didn't smell special or anything, but he felt a little cleaner and foremost clearer.

He was pretty sure that he had something like a crush on Akaashi.

At first he had just thought him attractive – and he still did – but now, after only three hours, he was fascinated by this guy. He wanted to get back to him as fast as possible and talk more to him. Find out more about him, anything he was willing to tell. He wanted to be on the receiving end of that smile again that was so subtle, nothing world-changing, but yes when Akaashi Keiji smiled, the world didn't stop spinning, the clocks didn't stop ticking and their flight was still unbelievably delayed, but Bokuto Koutarou still felt breathless by it.

He exited the restroom, his gray sweater in his hand now and he felt a little chilly now, but he didn't want to get in it again. It probably was also because some parts of his t-shirt had become wet with ice cold water (the options had been cold or even colder water, wow) and it stuck to his body, even more than it already did because he had had this shirt ever since his third year of high school and it was probably two sizes to small by now, but he loved it too much to give it up ever.

“Hello again,” he announced his return and Akaashi looked up from his phone, only for his eyes to stay with him and if Bokuto didn't know better, he would have thought that Akaashi was staring him. Maybe he still had some soap on his face?

“Is everything alright?”

Akaashi cleared his throat and looked away and Bokuto now definitely noticed how his cheeks were tainted, barely, but it was still there. He wondered, almost hoped, but he couldn't be sure.

“So,” Bokuto sat down again and grinned over to his partner-in-crime for the night. “still a little more than six hours to go. What to you wanna do?”

Akaashi had put away his phone away and his cheeks also looked normal again, though he didn't look over to him.

“Hard to say, there isn't really that much to do, around here, right?”

Bokuto hummed in agreement and leaned back into his seat, trying to find any position that could be called even a little comfortable, but he didn't really make it.

“We could talk for a bit? I really like talking to you. You are so interesting!”

Akaashi now looked over to him and he seemed genuinely surprised.

“Really?” he said in surprise and Bokuto couldn't understand how that would be surprising to anyone.

“Of course! I really enjoy my time with you, without you I would have literally died from boredom.”

Akaashi smiled again (the world is still spinning) and he leaned back, too, and now he was closer to him (the clocks are still ticking) and Bokuto could faintly take in his smell. Nothing otherworldly, nothing strong, just pleasant (the flight was so delayed).

“You know, Bokuto-san, not many people call me interesting,” he said, his voice quiet. “I also really enjoy our time together.”

Bokuto grinned at him and then nudged him with his elbow.

“Then you should maybe remind people to do it every one in a while.”

Akaashi then laughed out loud and Bokuto checked his clock.

 

**6 hours left**

 

“Okay so, we bought maybe 30 bottles of coke, okay. And we shook them until they almost all exploded, and then we just put them all together and then we tied them at my feet, like four at every feet, alright? And then- oh wait, I have the video on my phone,” Bokuto interrupted himself and pulled out his phone out of his jeans pocket, looking for the video in question in his gallery and then giving it to Akaashi, leaning in to watch it with him over his shoulder.

On the video you could see how Bokuto pulled a rope that detached the lids of the bottles and for maybe three seconds he was hovering over the ground.

“Isn't this awesome? It was super awesome, it was, like, Back to the Future stuff,” he almost hooted in delight and took the phone again. Akaashi looked over to him and Bokuto couldn't tell if he was laughing with him or at him.

“How many tries did that take? How many bottles had to die?”

“Oh, it already worked on the second try! But Kuroo and Lev wanted to try it, too and Kuroo did it on the first try, but Lev gave up after four after he pulled the rope and smacked himself in the face, oh man that was just absolutely priceless!” Bokuto started to laugh at the mere memory of it, holding his stomach and hunching over. Lev was a riot.

“I really don't know what to say, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi admitted, but he didn't seem to be condescending, just sincerely at loss of words.

They had started talk about random things. Akaashi had told him about some stories with his students – which were also pretty amusing – and then he had asked about Bokuto's friends and he was not prepared.

“Oh Lev is just the best! I once had to get him out of holding because he had brought a knife with him into a stadium and he is a giant Russian guy who cannot shut up to save his life, so an old lady thought he was a terrorist. Plot twist: He just had that knife because – and we are talking big here, something you murder a cow with – he had brought a long an entire cheesecake as a snack and he needed something to split it with.”

Akaashi covered his eyes with one of his hands, probably feeling the secondhand embarrassment, but he did wear a smile on his face.

“Your life sounds really crazy,” he said in between Bokuto's laughter and Bokuto agreed. His friends were pretty crazy, but he wouldn't want to miss them ever.

“Just to make you feel better, not all of them are like that. We also have a group mom, Yaku, which is funny because he is Lev's boyfriend, out of all people. And he his like, really short – as in 165 cm while Lev is almost two meters tall, it's just hilarious. I do not want to know how that works out in bed.”

Akaashi blushed and Bokuto laughed, now leaning into Akaashi, who froze for the first second, but then relaxed into him.

“Okay, let's raise the level a bit here. Maybe I will bring out the really good stories later,” he said and Akaashi slightly turned his head so Bokuto could see the look he was giving him. His eyes were saying, _“These weren't the really good stories already?”_

“Talk psychology to me! It's probably really interesting, right?”

Akaashi's smile faltered a bit and he turned his head away.

“Are you sure? It would probably bore you pretty quickly. Psychology isn't as crazy as your stores?”

“Really? Psychology isn't crazy?”

There it was, Akaashi smile widened again and Bokuto felt lighter.

“That's not what I meant, but- alright. Have you heard of Freud?”

“Heard the name, I know he said something about penis envy, please tell me more.”

And he did, Akaashi did tell him about Freud and other theories and people and Bokuto imagined how lucky someone would be to have this guy has their teacher.

 

**5 hours left**

 

“Akaashi?”

He looked over to the other man, whose head suddenly fell onto his shoulder.

Bokuto tensed up and he didn't know what to do (though he knew he didn't want for the head to go away.”

“Hmm,” Akaashi just hummed, barely awake and Bokuto just let him stay, starting a game of Solitaire on his phone when he noticed how the breaths of the teacher evened. At some point he put his head onto his and he noticed how well they fit together.

Bokuto looked down to Akaashi's hand that lay on his own leg and he wanted to take it, even for just a second, he wanted it so much and he did notice how his hand slowly moved closer to it.

They were almost touching, he already felt the other man's warmth and when their pinkies made contact, Bokuto already chickened out and started to pull away again, but Akaashi's hand suddenly moved and grabbed his, intervening their fingers and Bokuto could feel his heart in his mouth, it was beating so hard.

“Is this alright?” Akaashi mumbled and Bokuto just squeezed his hand and almost squealed when Akaashi stroked his hand with his thumbs exactly three times.

He did it again two failed Solitaire games later. Again after another one, so Bokuto knew he was awake and probably watching him losing game after game.

“A-akaashi?” Bokuto almost chocked out, locking his phone and putting it away.

The other man made a low sound, signaling that he was listening.

Bokuto raised his head and looked down to him, seeing that his eyes were closed, but he knew he would hear every word.

“I-i know I just met you and this maybe totally crazy-” Bokuto stopped himself when he realized he sounded like Carly Rae Jepsen and that his not how he wanted to be remembered.

“Ah, man this is so tough,” he said instead and let out a heavy sigh.

Akaashi then raised his head, his eyes tired, their color darker then usually when he looked up to him.

“Bokuto-san, you seemed so fearless to me until now, what is holding you back?”

Bokuto laughed out loud and shook his head, this man was unbelievable. But he was right, nothing held him back now.

So he cupped Akaashi's face and he pulled him close, maybe a little too fast because he was nervous and his hands were shaking and he smelled like airport soap and sweat and probably tasted like McDonald's, but he was somehow sure that neither of them minded and then their lips finally met. It didn't matter if none of this caused the world to stop spinning or the clocks from ticking around them, but it did for Bokuto. It did for him. Because of this beautiful genius that thought he was smart and told him about Freud, ate unhealthy food with him and watched his stupid videos, in the middle of the night at Sapporo airport.

They parted way too early, definitely not enough, and Akaashi, he could say his name another five hundred times, Akaashi, _Akaashi_ , he smiled at him, his hand on his arms, tightening around his biceps.

“Bokuto-san, when you came back from the restroom and I saw you first in this t-shirt, I thought it was a crime. I really like your arms,” he rasped and Bokuto remembered how Akaashi's eyes had lingered on him and he didn't just imagine it, he had hoped so right.

“You are really beautiful, Akaashi. I already thought when you first sat down next to me, almost 6 hours ago.”

Akaashi blushed, this time not just faintly, but very visibly and he buried his face in Bokuto's neck.

“Bokuto-san, I am really tired, maybe we could sleep for a bit? Just 30 minutes maybe?”

Bokuto didn't want to sleep, didn't want to miss anything, but he also felt how his eyelids got heavy, so he nodded and they leaned back together, Bokuto's arm around the other man and they fell asleep.

 

 

 

 

 

**30 minutes left**

 

Bokuto jerked up, when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and he was momentarily stunned by the buzz around him and moreover the sun shining onto them.

The sun? How could this- Oh no!

Bokuto grabbed his phone, ignoring the text that had woken him up, and he almost screamed out loud when he saw the time on the screen. No this couldn't be, they couldn't have slept for almost four hours, they couldn't have wasted all this time.

He turned around to Akaashi, who was still asleep and oblivious to all of this.

They would board their flight soon. And then they would be back in Narita so fast and then everything would be over, and he wasn't ready, he still needed time.

“Akaashi, wake up, we overslept,” he said and gently shook his shoulder.

Akaashi slowly opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. He also quickly realized the changes around him and sat up abruptly.

“What time is it?”

Bokuto showed him his phone and Akaashi sighed. Well, at least they didn't miss their flight.

They both stood up, going to the restroom to freshen up, Bokuto got his bag from the locker and afterwards went to a coffee shop that was now open. Akaashi got him the sweetest frappocino they had on the menu and a big black coffee for himself and Bokuto just had one sip of it, when they heard their flight being announced ready for boarding.

On the plane their seats were apart from each other and not even close by another. Bokuto kept looking back to him, but he couldn't even see him and he felt helpless, he didn't know what to do.

He wanted to stand up and find him, pull him out of his seat and- he didn't even know. He just didn't want this. He didn't enjoy the take-off, he didn't pay attention to the wall of clouds or the sun shining down on the field made of them.

When they landed in Tokyo Bokuto dreaded to get out of the plane.

His mood was the worst.

 

It got better when they arrived at Narita and he saw that Akaashi was standing there and waiting for him.

He quickly picked up his pace and they walked together, through security checks and then waiting for their luggage.

Bokuto's suitcase was the very first one to arrive, Akaashi's the seventh – unbelievable.

Then they slowly walked towards the exit, as if walking slow could prevent it and when they stepped out into the big hall, Bokuto knew he couldn't breathe right.

 

He knew, though, he was absolutely sure of it: he needed to see Akaashi again.

“Bokuto-san,” Bokuto turned around to him and they faced each other, around them hundreds of people and they ignored them all.

“I want to see you again!” Bokuto almost shouted and grabbed his hands. “Please!”

Akaashi smiled at him and nodded and this time it was wide enough that Bokuto could see his teeth and he was sure

 

the world stopped spinning

the clocks stopped ticking

because Akaashi Keiji wanted to see him again.

 

 

 


End file.
